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rory_john14's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Suicide and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Classism
bookish_sabrina's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
I had higher hopes for this one than I think this novel deserved. I found it to be strangely paced, and the villain of the story to be too obvious, even for a children's book. I was also frustrated by the characters. While narrated by Lucy, the book is dominated by the titular Lockwood. Much like the dynamic between Harry and Hermione, Lockwood gets most of the credit when Lucy is often the one who does the work, or the one who is correct. I think Lockwood's arrogance was meant to be charming, but it was more grating than anything.
I did enjoy the worldbuilding. It's fun to think of an agency run by children, as bad of an idea that is. I think some of the ghost lore was intriguing, but could have been fleshed out more. I didn't realize before reading this book that I guess I'm just not that into paranormal stories, especially those aimed at younger readers?
I would also be remiss if I didn't mention the rampant fatphobia that runs throughout this book. The third member of Lockwood and Co, George, is somewhat cruel to Lucy, and the way his body and movements are described make him seem like a grotesque glutton. Villainy and fatness are often paired, and while George is not a villain per say, he is often the naysayer of the group. I think his body type and personality are meant to serve as a foil to Lockwood, and of course the fat one would be the mildly sexist, insatiable Debby Downer of the group. His bodily movements are always included when he does anything. He's pudgy, he waddles, he jiggles. When food is present in the room, George cannot help but pay attention to it and nothing else. It feels very cruel on the part of the author. Whether or not he realized it when he was writing, he was shaming fat bodies. Every time it happened, which was a lot, I was pulled from the story and felt a small gut punch. As someone who was teased and mocked for my body throughout my youth, this narrative does nothing but reinforce those feelings of shame and self-hatred that I developed. No one should be made to feel that way.
I did enjoy the worldbuilding. It's fun to think of an agency run by children, as bad of an idea that is. I think some of the ghost lore was intriguing, but could have been fleshed out more. I didn't realize before reading this book that I guess I'm just not that into paranormal stories, especially those aimed at younger readers?
I would also be remiss if I didn't mention the rampant fatphobia that runs throughout this book. The third member of Lockwood and Co, George, is somewhat cruel to Lucy, and the way his body and movements are described make him seem like a grotesque glutton. Villainy and fatness are often paired, and while George is not a villain per say, he is often the naysayer of the group. I think his body type and personality are meant to serve as a foil to Lockwood, and of course the fat one would be the mildly sexist, insatiable Debby Downer of the group. His bodily movements are always included when he does anything. He's pudgy, he waddles, he jiggles. When food is present in the room, George cannot help but pay attention to it and nothing else. It feels very cruel on the part of the author. Whether or not he realized it when he was writing, he was shaming fat bodies. Every time it happened, which was a lot, I was pulled from the story and felt a small gut punch. As someone who was teased and mocked for my body throughout my youth, this narrative does nothing but reinforce those feelings of shame and self-hatred that I developed. No one should be made to feel that way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
lizsmartie13's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Sorry to all of my friends who love this book but god, if I had to read one more deeply offensive word about George’s fatness, I was going to scream. Like, every other sentence there was some dig at his shape or what a slob he was or how much food he was consuming at that moment in time or how he’s always breaking things with his huge repulsive body. Like, I get it, Jonathan! Fat people disgust you! Can you edit down some of this egregiously hateful content in your book aimed at children and teens, please?
Fatphobia is so pervasive in our culture, some authors don’t even realize they’re doing it, and sometimes a book is so good in so many other ways that I’m willing to put it aside (for instance, in T71/2DEC, since it is mostly contained to one chapter, I find it easier to compartmentalize). However, for me, this was not that book. I was fairly bored reading it, Lucy just did not compel me, and Lockwood has charming boy genius thing that I’ve just read too much of. The only character I was really interested in was George, and you can IMAGINE how that went. It didn’t help that I’ve read enough mysteries that I saw the end coming a mile away, and the as fun as some of the Red Room and Screaming Staircase stuff was, it was probably less than 50 pages out of a 400 page book. This was just not for me. Bummer :(
Fatphobia is so pervasive in our culture, some authors don’t even realize they’re doing it, and sometimes a book is so good in so many other ways that I’m willing to put it aside (for instance, in T71/2DEC, since it is mostly contained to one chapter, I find it easier to compartmentalize). However, for me, this was not that book. I was fairly bored reading it, Lucy just did not compel me, and Lockwood has charming boy genius thing that I’ve just read too much of. The only character I was really interested in was George, and you can IMAGINE how that went. It didn’t help that I’ve read enough mysteries that I saw the end coming a mile away, and the as fun as some of the Red Room and Screaming Staircase stuff was, it was probably less than 50 pages out of a 400 page book. This was just not for me. Bummer :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
The fatphobia in this book is offensive and unresolved. It’s not seen as a flaw of Lockwood’s or Lucy’s that they feel this way about George— their commentary is supposed to be funny or understandable. It’s deeply upsetting to me as a reader, especially in a book aimed at young adults.maryshelleys's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
a friend of mine was obsessed with this book in high school and lended it to me back then to try it out myself. though not really my style, i can definitely see the appeal and why she loves it so much to this day.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
camilleingram's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I have very mixed feelings about this book. I really only finished the book because the plot was so interesting, but the characters weren't very lovable, and there were several inconsistencies in the story of the book that made me wonder how this got through an editor (the timeline of the book had several hiccups and the setting, both physical and time-wise, was unclear).
Lucy isn't a strong female narrator, and is confusing to read all around, likely because she's a teenage girl written by an adult man. Lockwood is problematic as well, and somewhat manipulative, with Lucy describing Lockwood flashing smiles that "you couldn't say no to". These were lighthearted comments written in at the time, but they underscore the problematic nature of this group's dynamic, with Lockwood being unable to recognize when he has taken his colleagues too far, and put them in mortal danger. It is the manipulative aspect of Lockwood's personality that made me really distrustful of the writing in this book. George, the third member of the Lockwood and Co company, is described in an incredibly fat phobic way, and Stroud uses the fat phobia to attach many other 'negative' traits to George at the expense of his weight. When Lucy thinks about/describes George, she really only talks about how nerdy he is, or how his weight is a problem for her, which is an incredibly flawed way to present an overweight character to children who are still developing views of their own bodies. The fat phobic comments were entirely unnecessary to the plot OR character development, and they ultimately reflect on Stroud's lazy writing. Overall, I'd say this book had a really interesting plot, and some actually good ghost-fighting sections, but the inconsistencies in the story and Stroud's conflicted writing makes it not a very great read.
Lucy isn't a strong female narrator, and is confusing to read all around, likely because she's a teenage girl written by an adult man. Lockwood is problematic as well, and somewhat manipulative, with Lucy describing Lockwood flashing smiles that "you couldn't say no to". These were lighthearted comments written in at the time, but they underscore the problematic nature of this group's dynamic, with Lockwood being unable to recognize when he has taken his colleagues too far, and put them in mortal danger. It is the manipulative aspect of Lockwood's personality that made me really distrustful of the writing in this book. George, the third member of the Lockwood and Co company, is described in an incredibly fat phobic way, and Stroud uses the fat phobia to attach many other 'negative' traits to George at the expense of his weight. When Lucy thinks about/describes George, she really only talks about how nerdy he is, or how his weight is a problem for her, which is an incredibly flawed way to present an overweight character to children who are still developing views of their own bodies. The fat phobic comments were entirely unnecessary to the plot OR character development, and they ultimately reflect on Stroud's lazy writing. Overall, I'd say this book had a really interesting plot, and some actually good ghost-fighting sections, but the inconsistencies in the story and Stroud's conflicted writing makes it not a very great read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
totallyshelfaware's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Minor: Murder